In the past, a film deposition apparatus that forms a thin film of silicon or the like on a base member such as a glass substrate was provided with a chamber, a gas introduction path that introduces a source gas into the chamber, and a pair of electrodes disposed within the chamber. The base member for deposition formation of the film is placed on one of the pair of electrodes, and a high-frequency power supply is connected to the other of the pair of electrodes for applying high-frequency power.
A plasma is generated in a space sandwiched between the pair of electrodes by the high-frequency power applied to the other of the pair of electrodes. The source gas is decomposed, excited, and activated by this plasma, thereby generating a variety of activated species. A portion of these species is deposited onto the base member so as to form a film.
At present, in thin-film silicon-based solar cells, in order to improve the photovoltaic conversion efficiency and reduce the manufacturing cost of the solar cell, there is a need for a manufacturing method capable of forming a high-quality thin film even when the film is deposited at a high rate.
As a method for manufacturing a thin-film silicon-based solar cell, technology has been proposed (refer to the Patent Reference 1 below) whereby the pressure within a chamber is set to 3 Torr (approximately 400 Pa) or greater, and the source gas includes a silane-based gas and hydrogen gas, with the flow rate of hydrogen gas being at least 50 times greater than that of the silane-based gas.